A shocking turn of events unfolded during the Paralympic giant slalom on Wednesday, March 13, 2026, as Dutch skier Jeroen Kampschreur’s ski detached mid-run.
“Oh no, this shouldn’t be happening,” exclaimed NRK’s expert commentator Beate Catrin Haugen. “The binding should be locked. The bindings on sit-skis should be locked so they can’t come off,” she continued.
Reports indicate the forward binding of Kampschreur’s ski came loose. Fortunately, the Dutch athlete was able to ski safely to the finish area.
Kampschreur entered the competition with gold medals already secured in super-G and super combined.
“Usually Keeps the Ski On”
“This actually happens quite often with Jeroen. He did the same thing in downhill. It’s really too bad for him. He’s always up there,” said Jesper Saltvik Pedersen to NRK following the first run.
“I usually manage to keep the ski on. I think that’s the fastest way to move,” Pedersen added.
He currently sits in third place heading into the final run, trailing Italian Rene de Silvestro by 2.22 seconds.
“Tough Course”
Dutch skier Niels de Langen is in second place, just 84 hundredths of a second behind de Silvestro.
“I don’t know what happened, but I think a bump caused the ski to come off,” de Langen told NRK regarding his teammate Kampschreur.
Challenging conditions in Cortina saw 15 of 37 racers fail to finish the first run.
“The first run was a bit soft, which created a lot of bumps. You can see that in everyone who went out. It’s a tough course today. Hopefully, the second run will be better with some salt,” said de Langen.
American Andrew Kurka, who won bronze in super-G at the games, experienced the same issue.
“It’s tricky to ski in mashed potatoes,” he said to SVT.
“It’s difficult in some places, and mushy in others… it’s like mashed potatoes, and it’s hard to ski in mashed potatoes,” Kurka elaborated to the Swedish broadcaster.
Magnus Valø Balchen is currently in seventh place, 4.51 seconds behind de Silvestro.
The second run is scheduled to commence at 13:15 and will be broadcast on NRK1 and in NRK TV. Follow the race live here.
Demanding Conditions for Standing Athletes Too
In the standing class, Bernt Marius Rørstad finished 17th, while Marcus Grasto Nilsson placed 20th.
Rørstad expressed his satisfaction with his run after speaking with NRK.
“It actually went better than expected. I’ve been almost twice as far behind in previous giant slaloms. To halve that gap, I’m incredibly pleased,” Rørstad said.
The first run of the standing class was marked by several falls.
Something Grasto Nilsson noted.
“I made it down. Not in the way I hoped, but I made it down,” he told NRK.
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